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Archive for November, 2013

Mortgage Checking - Discover Incentive

December 1st, 2013 at 05:13 am

I got my $5 giftcard from Discover for calling them about their mortgage program. I will probably use this at the grocery store or gas station. Transferred $5 to the mortgage checking for this bonus.

$60.00 Balance
-$55.00 December 2013 Principle
=$5.00 New Balance

$5.00 Balance
+$5.00 Discover Incentive
=$10.00 New Balance

Lots of prizes in the mail!

December 1st, 2013 at 05:03 am


I got my $250 in CVS giftcards! WHOO HOO! I requested the majority of the cards in $25 increments, that way just in case one would get lost or misplaced I would only be missing $25 or less instead of a huge chunk.

I also got a $10 off a $10 purchase coupon for Kohls. It isn't good until next week, so I will go in then and try to find something for $10 that I can get free, or I may also look for some jeans and use the $10 off on that.

I got the $5 giftcard from Discover that I earned just for calling in to ask about their mortgage rates, I will add $5 to the mortgage checking for this.

There was also a mailer from our bank for another free $5, just have to use our debit card 5 times in December. Once I earn that I will add that to the mortgage checking as well.

Sorry No Thanksgiving Deals

December 1st, 2013 at 04:23 am

Hey guys and gals. Life has been very busy and overwhelming lately, and I did not do any after Thanksgiving deals or my usual CVS freebies this year. I hope you all had a lovely holiday and got to spend time with those you are thankful for! I have recently had some moments where I really realized what is important in life and have really opened my eyes to the "don't sweat the small stuff".

I have been having trouble getting back in the swing of things with the free stuff and couponing since September. Trying to get motivated to get back into it so we can have more funds to put towards the mortgage!

December 2013 Mortgage Payment

November 28th, 2013 at 03:37 am

December 2013 Mortgage Payment

Balance $99,600.00
+$228.25 Interest
-$1218.88 Regular Payment
-$254.37 Principle Payment
-$55.00 Mortgage Checking Principle Payment
New Balance $98,300.00

Escrow Savings Account
$2110.00
+$350.00 November Deposit
+$5.00 Even Out Interest Amount
=$2465.00

$20K Update - Payday!

November 21st, 2013 at 10:20 pm

Payday! Transferred enough to the Anniversary Cruise Account so that when our last auto deposit of the year goes through (on 12/15/13) that will meet the goal for the year of $3000.00.
Also transferred over December's Escrow amount, normally do that with the paycheck on the 5th, rather then the one on the 20th, but we have enough in checking to do it now, so figured might as well get a little ahead.

Current Balance $27,535.00
+$225.00 to meet Anniversary Cruise Goal
+$350.00 December Escrow Deposit
+$100.00 to Retirement Hold Account
New Balance $28,210.00

ING $24,880.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$430.00
HSBC $2900.00
Total = $28,110.00

Day 5 - To Do List Progress

November 21st, 2013 at 04:25 pm

Didn't get too much done yesterday off the list because I was helping DH with an online class and also had a BD party to go to. And today I think I may just relax. Smile But will still have Friday and the weekend to get some more done.

X Get new tires on my car (called and got estimate)
X Enter my Coke points
X Make a plan for Thanksgiving CVS deals
X $50K Update on WIR
-$100K Update on WIR
X Call for underground sprinkler estimates (left messages with 6 different places)
X File
X Pick up living room
X Vacuum living room
-Make the calendar for December
-Sweep Kitchen Floor
X Wax Eyebrows
-Laundry
X Take jeans to the tailor
X Call Discover to get free $5 giftcard
X Pay Citicard
X Organize Coupons
X Grocery Shopping
-Go to gym 8 times (went five times so far)
X Count change and take it to the bank
X Make packing list for Thanksgiving
X Pay MDU
X Pay water bill
X Buy wine for Thanksgiving
X Buy pop for Thanksgiving
X Get free stuff from Menards
X Take back library books
X Balance checkbook
X Activate new Credit Card
X Make dessert for friend's BD party


Christmas Stuff
X Put up Tree
X Decorate Tree
X Put up decorations
X Hang Snowflakes
-Outside Decorations
-Print Christmas Cards
-Buy Presents (Made list of 14 people for Christmas presents, 2 birthdays, and 1 newborn (SIL is due any day now!))
--Got 2 Christmas presents, 2 birthdays and the newborn gift done.
-Wrap Presents

Reminder - Get your Coke Points Entered and Redeemed!

November 19th, 2013 at 06:46 pm

I entered some more Coke Points today and redeemed 625 points for a Taylor Swift/Diet Coke ear bud/bracelet. Per their website, the last day you can enter points is 11/30/13 and the last day to redeem is 12/31/13, so make sure to get your points in and redeemed before you lose your balance. Also, it is best to pick out your prize first, because any pts that are entered but not redeemed by 12/31/13 are lost. So only enter the number that you actually want to redeem at this time. I entered 627, so only losing 2 points.

.34 Mammoth Muffins from Perkins!

November 19th, 2013 at 04:52 pm



DH and I went out to dinner at Perkins last night. Our total was $19, but I had a coupon for $5.00 off a purchase of $25.00. So we decided to get some muffins (I have this week off of work, so would be good breakfast or snacks for me!) The muffins were $2.30-$2.60 each depending on the kind, and they were Buy 3, get 3 free! So we got 6 muffins, for the price of 3, this got our total to $26, take off the $5 coupon, and our new total is only $21! Only $2 more then our original bill, plus now we have 6 giant muffins! Can't beat .34 a muffin! YEAH! Cranberry Orange for me! MMMMMM!

Day 3 - To Do List Progress

November 19th, 2013 at 04:31 pm

DH said he is gonna take care of the oil change on his car, so got to remove that one from the list. Trucking along!

X Get new tires on my car (called and got estimate)
-Enter my Coke points
X Make a plan for Thanksgiving CVS deals
X $50K Update on WIR
-$100K Update on WIR
-Call for underground sprinkler estimates
-File
X Pick up living room
X Vacuum living room
-Make the calendar for December
-Sweep Kitchen Floor
X Wax Eyebrows
-Laundry
X Take jeans to the tailor
X Call Discover to get free $5 giftcard
X Pay Citicard
X Organize Coupons
-Grocery Shopping
-Go to gym 8 times (went three times so far)
X Count change and take it to the bank
X Make packing list for Thanksgiving
X Pay MDU
X Pay water bill
X Buy wine for Thanksgiving
X Buy pop for Thanksgiving
X Get free stuff from Menards
X Take back library books
X Balance checkbook
X Activate new Credit Card


Christmas Stuff
X Put up Tree
X Decorate Tree
X Put up decorations
X Hang Snowflakes
-Outside Decorations
-Print Christmas Cards
-Buy Presents (Made list of 14 people for Christmas presents, 2 birthdays, and 1 newborn (SIL is due any day now!))
--Got one Christmas present and the newborn gift done.
-Wrap Presents

Helping Bro get some credit

November 19th, 2013 at 01:38 am

My lil bro is 22 and at this time in his life hasn't had much need at all for credit. He is done with school (fire fighter) and working full time at a hospital until he can get a job in the fire fighter field. Since he has no debt, he has very minimal bills (rent, food, cell phone etc) and he has no interest in having a credit card, but I did tell him he should get one to build credit so if he needs it for a car or a mortgage in the future he would have some credit built up. He had applied for a few cards, but wasn't approved (because at this time he literally has nothing on his credit report). So I found a card for him that I thought would work and applied for him. He was approved and so he agreed to have the card mailed to me and I will use it occasionally for gas purchases and pay it off each month to help him build up his credit. I told him he could do this himself and just pick one thing a month (gas, groceries, etc) to charge and pay it off each month, but he is not comfortable with the whole concept of the credit card, and would prefer I just do that for him. Which I think is great that he is just up front and says how he feels about it and that he doesn't want to get in any kind of a mess with credit cards. So I will start using the card this week and get a score built up for him. Smile

$20K Update

November 18th, 2013 at 11:02 pm

Couple of items had to get paid for, so went down a little. Glad to have those 2 items off the list of things to buy.

New Focus = Sept 2014 $1100/$1800

Current Balance $28,135.00
+$100.00 Anniversary Cruise
-$300.00 Hot Tub Cover
-$400.00 4 Tires for my car
New Balance $27,535.00

ING $24,430.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$430.00
HSBC $2675.00
Total = $27,535.00

3 minutes of my time = $5 from Discover!

November 18th, 2013 at 04:49 pm

I got a mailer from Discover advertising their mortgage services. It said just for calling in and speaking with a Discover Mortgage Officer you get $5. I was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to beat our rate, since we are in a 10 year loan for 2.75%, but figured I would check it out and get the free $5. I called them, it took 3 minutes total for him to verify that they wouldn't be able to beat that rate and the free $5 is on it's way to me! Once I get that I will put it in the mortgage checking!
They also asked if we needed to consolidate any debt (don't have any) or if we needed any money for home improvements or major purchases (that is what savings is for). Smile Bet he doesn't hear those answers too often. Smile

Day 2 - To Do List Progress

November 18th, 2013 at 04:01 pm

-Get DH's oil changed
-Get new tires on my car (called and got estimate)
-Enter my Coke points
X Make a plan for Thanksgiving CVS deals
X $50K Update on WIR
-$100K Update on WIR
-Call for underground sprinkler estimates
-File
X Pick up living room
X Vacuum living room
-Make the calendar for December
-Sweep Kitchen Floor
-Wax Eyebrows
-Laundry
-Take jeans to the tailor
-Call Discover to get free $10 giftcard (already called, but mortgage officer was not available so they will call me back on Monday)
X Pay Citicard
X Organize Coupons
-Grocery Shopping
-Go to gym 8 times (went three times so far)
-Count change and take it to the bank (counted)
-Make packing list for Thanksgiving
X Pay MDU
X Pay water bill
-Buy wine for Thanksgiving
X Buy pop for Thanksgiving

Christmas Stuff
X Put up Tree
X Decorate Tree
X Put up decorations
-Outside Decorations
-Print Christmas Cards
-Buy Presents (Made list of 14 people for Christmas presents, 2 birthdays, and 1 newborn (SIL is due any day now!))
-Wrap Presents

Mortgage Checking - Coin Deposit

November 17th, 2013 at 09:38 pm

Counted the piggy bank today...another $55.00 to go towards the mortgage principle for December!

$80.00 Balance
-$75.00 November 2013 Principle
=$5.00 New Balance

$5.00 Balance
+$55.00 Coin
=$60.00 New Balance

To Do List Progress

November 17th, 2013 at 08:00 pm

Going well so far. Happy to say I went to the gym 3 days in a row! Unfortunately I love to sabotage my To Do lists by continuously adding on more items....therefore they never get finished...oh well, progress!

-Get DH's oil changed
-Get new tires on my car
-Enter my Coke points
X Make a plan for Thanksgiving CVS deals
X $50K Update on WIR
-$100K Update on WIR
-Call for underground sprinkler estimates
-File
X Pick up living room
X Vacuum living room
-Make the calendar for December
-Sweep Kitchen Floor
-Wax Eyebrows
-Laundry
-Take jeans to the tailor
-Call Discover to get free $10 giftcard (already called, but mortgage officer was not available so they will call me back on Monday)
X Pay Citicard
X Organize Coupons
-Grocery Shopping
-Go to gym 8 times (went three times so far)
-Count change and take it to the bank
-Make packing list for Thanksgiving
-Pay MDU
-Pay water bill
-Buy wine for Thanksgiving
X Buy pop for Thanksgiving

Christmas Stuff
-Put up Tree
-Decorate Tree
-Put up decorations
-Outside Decorations
-Print Christmas Cards
-Buy Presents (Made list of 14 people for Christmas presents, 2 birthdays, and 1 newborn (SIL is due any day now!))
-Wrap Presents

Nine Days Off!! To Do List

November 16th, 2013 at 10:17 pm

I have off until 11/25/13! YEAH! Nothing special planned, just some PTO to use up before the end of the year and I thought now would be a great time so I can get my Christmas stuff in order and also last week I worked 12.5 hours of OT, so I could really use a lil break! As usual I have many things I want to get done. So here we go....

-Get DH's oil changed
-Get new tires on my car
-Enter my Coke points
-Make a plan for Thanksgiving CVS deals
-$50K Update on WIR
-$100K Update on WIR
-Call for underground sprinkler estimates
-File
-Pick up living room
-Vacuum living room
-Make the calendar for December
-Sweep Kitchen Floor
-Wax Eyebrows
-Laundry
-Take jeans to the tailor
-Call Discover to get free $10 giftcard (already called, but mortgage officer was not available so they will call me back on Monday)
-Pay Citicard
-Organize Coupons
-Buy tortillas
-Go to gym 8 times (went once so far)

Christmas Stuff
-Put up Tree
-Decorate Tree
-Put up decorations
-Outside Decorations
-Print Christmas Cards
-Buy Presents (Made list of 13 people for Christmas presents, 2 birthdays, and 1 newborn (SIL is due any day now!))
-Wrap Presents

$250 in FREE Giftcards!!

November 16th, 2013 at 05:08 pm

I went and redeemed my Discover Card rewards, which were quite high since I paid our home insurance on it for the year. I redeemed $90 in cashback rewards for $100 in CVS giftcards!

Also I recently got a Citi Thank You card that was offering a promotion of 12 months 0% interest and 15,000 bonus points for spending $1000 in the first 3 months.

My lil bro needed to pay his tuition for school and needed a credit card, so I paid the tuition on this card ($3745.00), and he gave me a check for the total. The 15,000 in pts I got equals $150 in giftcards, so I got another $150 in CVS giftcards (thought about getting different stores/restaurants, but wasn't seeing anything I really liked and I know I will eventually use the CVS ones). Also since the card is 12 months no interest, I will put the $3745 in savings for 12 months and make interest on it and then pay it off before the 0% expires!

Always thinking of a way to save a buck!! Smile

CVS Deals Week of 11/3/13 and 11/10/13

November 10th, 2013 at 10:59 pm



Got a couple of freebies to add to the rummage sale inventory.

CVS Brand Extra Strength Pain Relief Tablets 24ct (Bought 3)
Regular Price $4.99 each
-$4.99 Each CVS Coupon Machine Coupon
Final Price - All 3 FREE!
(Marked $2.50 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold all 3 to a coworker for $2.50 each on 3/17/14
Profit = $7.50

Just the Basics Brand Toothbrush (Bought 2)
Regular Price .99 each
-$2.00 off 2 toothbruch, toothpaste or oral care CVS Coupon Machine Coupon
Final Price - Both Free!!
(Marked $1.00 each for rummage sale)
*ETA - Sold 2 for $1.00 each at 9/4/14 rummage sale
Profit = $2.00

Contour Next EZ Meter
Regular Price $19.99
-$10.00 Sale Price
*Received $9.99 EB
Final Price - Free!
(Marked $7.00 for rummage sale)
*ETA - This did not sell, and is set to expire in a few months, so I donated it on FB.

$20K Update

November 10th, 2013 at 05:10 pm

We got the check in the mail from DH's Red Sox bet. Added the $100 to the Vegas Fund per his request.

New Focus = Sept 2014 $1100/$1800

Current Balance $28,045.00
-$112.00 to ROTH IRA
+$2.00 Even Out Amount
+$100.00 Red Sox Winner Bet
+$100.00 to Retirement Hold Account
New Balance $28,135.00

ING $25,130.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$430.00
HSBC $2575.00
Total = $28,135.00

$20K Update - ING Interest and Payday

November 3rd, 2013 at 06:42 pm

New Focus = Sept 2014 $1100/$1800

Current Balance $27,445.00
+$15.99 Interest
+$34.01 Even Out Amount
+$350.00 Novemeber Escrow Deposit
+$200.00 to Sept 2014
New Balance $28,045.00

ING $25,040.00 ($5620.00 Bingo Money)
Home Improvements(cash)$430.00
HSBC $2575.00
Total = $28,045.00

November 2013 Savings Update

November 3rd, 2013 at 06:31 pm

November 2013 Savings Update

Regular Savings:
Home Maintenance ING $6060
Cushion $3060
HSA $10,315
New Patio Door (cash) $680
Escrow - $1765
September 2014 $905 - Complete
Short Term Emergency Fund $180
Long Term Emergency Fund $1135 - Complete
New Car $10,150 - Complete
Vacation - $3010 - Complete
Anniversary Cruise $2575
Total Regular Savings = $39,835.00

Retirement Savings:
Retirement Hold Account $1280
Roth IRA $8030
Rollover IRA $815
401K $30,000
403B $23,800 (est)
Total Retirement Savings = $63,925.00

Total Savings $103,760.00

Down $1850.00 this month due to paying the yearly home insurance. But we are getting a refund of about $600 since we changed insurance companies, so should be back up in no time!

Huge Savings on Home and Auto Insurance!

November 3rd, 2013 at 05:16 pm

I recently posted about how I had paid our Home Insurance for the first time on our own rather then through an Escrow Account. That went well, we had saved much more then enough to make the payment, however I found out through some great commentors on here and through my mother, that I was paying way too much for Home Insurance.
This week I called my parents home insurance guy and was able to get a much, much lower quote for the same coverage! He also offered to give me a quote on car insurance, which I was skeptical about since we had a very low rate through Geico, however with the bundling discount from having our home insurance with him, the car insurance came out cheaper too!
So the auto went from $75 a month, to $64 a month (full coverage on 2 cars). And the home insurance went from $1875 a year to $1200 a year!
So I am super excited to be saving about $700 a year between the 2 switches.
I paid the new bills on the Discover, so getting cash back rewards again (which is sweet since I just paid the $1875 last month on the Discover and got the cash back on that) and now just waiting for the refund on the home insurance. Once I get that refund check, we will use it to pay the Discover bill for the new insurance premium and then put the difference back into savings. Smile Good day on the financial front!